For Immediate Release
October 15, 2008
For more information, contact Kevin Tyne at (602) 542-0681

Sec. of State Brewer
Addresses Concerns Over ACORN Voter Reg. Practices Arizona Has
Safeguards in Place, Urges Voters to be Diligent

PHOENIX -- Secretary of State Jan Brewer released
the following statement in the face of many inquiries over the past
week regarding the questionable voter registration efforts of ACORN
(the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) here in
Arizona:

“Too often I have seen groups like ACORN who disenfranchise
voters and file fraudulent voter registration forms here in Arizona .
The truth of the matter is something needs to be done about private
organizations like ACORN that attempt to knowingly deceive the election
system.

ACORN has been active in Arizona for several years, and just as
in other states, this group has turned in fraudulent and untimely voter
registration forms. In each instance, these registration forms were
referred to the Arizona Attorney General's Office and relevant County
Attorney 's offices for further investigation.

In many respects, we are fortunate that such efforts to
perpetrate a fraud on Arizona 's election process have been
unsuccessful. In part, that's because Arizona 's laws and procedures
prevent fraudulent registrations from making it on to our voter rolls.
For example, Arizona is the only state that requires proof of
citizenship for all new registrants. In addition, our laws require
those registering to vote provide an Arizona driver license number or
the last four digits of the applicant's Social Security number. This
information is then verified against the Motor Vehicle and Social
Security databases. No applicant will be registered to vote without
having their information verified through this process.

The most unfortunate situation caused by ACORN in Arizona is the
filing of untimely registrations. Arizona 's voter registration
deadline is set twenty-nine days before the election. Too often I've
seen registration forms collected by ACORN and other private
registration drives turned in after the deadline, thereby
disenfranchising the voter from voting in that election. It is for this
reason that I always recommend that those wishing to vote, register
directly with the election authorities.

The public needs to be diligent about questioning private
organizations like ACORN that are offering to register them to vote.
Although it is legal for a private group to register voters in Arizona
, these groups have gone unregulated for too long and it is time for
this practice to be seriously reformed. Twice, I authored specific
legislation to reform the practice of private voter registration
drives, but these efforts were met with resistance. I hope the
Legislature will seriously consider my proposals to reform and regulate
this industry in the next legislative session.

There are many ways for an individual to register to vote,
including online at the Secretary of State's website, www.azsos.gov, or
by downloading a form from this site and sending it directly to the
voter's county recorder.”